Breathing
by Karu Leonnese
Summary: In which Gojyo's psyche is sufficently screwed with. [58]


Breathing

A/N: This was originally a 39 idea, but it sounded just like a TTWH chappeh, so I decided to mix it up a bit. BOATS ficceh, I'm embarrassed to say... [sweatdrops]. Dedicated to Pai-san, cuz she tried to YIM meh and I got kicked off before we could talk. And she's been so patient in waiting for some 58 goodness. [grins] And she's having 'problems' with Gojyo. [wink]

Warnings: Shounen-ai and a borrowed cast. Gojyo's POV, which means a language warning.

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Hakkai was gone. That was the first thought that registered in my head when I woke up. I remembered falling asleep with him next to me, talking about whatever crap came out of our sleep-deprived minds. Like when you're tired as fuck, but when it actually comes to going to sleep, you can't. So we just kept talking until we finally fell asleep.

I slowly opened one eye to look at the clock beside the bed. It was still really early, too early for even Hakkai to be up. It didn't really bother me. He was probably just in the bathroom or something. I lay still, waiting for him to come back.

I woke up again about a half an hour later. Lying still in a half-sleep means falling back to sleep, even I know that. Hakkai was still gone. Maybe he was talking to Sanzo. Sanzo usually stayed up pretty late. I buried my head in the pillow, wondering if I should go check for him.

I head a sound. Freezing immediately, I listened. It sounded like a mix between a cough and a sigh. Scared the shit outta me, though I'd lie to anyone but myself. The windows and door were locked, thanks to Hakkai's eternal paranoia. So what the hell was that?

It came again. This time I heard it very clearly. And it –still- sent that wave of fear through me.

Vaguely I remembered Goku telling me about stories he'd heard from the townspeople about their haunted buildings. Damn that monkey, he'd gotten me all worked up. I'm the type who believes in ghosts. I'm superstitious to a fault, so sue me. But I've never been scared of them. One of those 'I see them but they can't hurt me' deals. I've never actually run into one either.

But I think I might've just found my first case right here. And damned if there's no one else here to see it.

I didn't move. Convincing myself I was dealing with the paranormal, I decided it would be best if it didn't know I was awake. I kept my eyes closed and didn't move. The noise kept coming, every so often. Just when I thought I might be able to sleep and get this night over with, it would make that noise again and jolt me awake. Dammit. I wished Hakkai would come back. He's say I was being stupid, that there was no such thing as ghosts and that I was imagining things. That's what Hakkai did. Hell, if he were here now, I probably wouldn't even be so scared right now. I probably wouldn't even have woken up in the first place.

I started to get the feeling that I was being watched. I was pretty sure this was just my own mind getting more and more worked up.

Coughsigh.

Coughsigh.

Coughsigh.

It went on and on. On and on until I thought I couldn't possibly stand another one of those noises. But I didn't' want to move. Moving meant turning its attention on me, and I wasn't -that -fucking suicidal. But it looked like my brunette salvation wasn't coming along very fast either.

Finally, I couldn't take another second of it. I snapped my hand to the desk lamp beside the bed, fumbling to turn it on. Maybe it would be scared of the light. Once the lamp was on, I figured it already knew I was up, if it was still here. I looked around.

Nothing.

I sat up in the bed, scanning the room for a while. I didn't see anything. No huge hulking mutant. No pitifully grotesque wraith. No demonic vampire ready to suck my blood. Just a quiet room, some small furniture, and one dumb-assed kappa getting scared of the dark.

I sighed, mentally berating myself. I'm way too old to be scared of things that go bump in the night. I was about to lie back down when I heard it.

Coughsigh.

Dammit, the lights were on and no one was home. Where the hell was this noise coming from?! I had to leave. Just go and find Hakkai. Or Goku. Hell, even Sanzo would be better than this room alone. I would just get up and run to the door. Then I'd be in the hall and away from this damn noise.

I jumped out of the bed before I had time to reconsider. I was halfway to the door before I noticed the blue lump on the chair. When I scanned the room, I passed it over as laundry, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to be moving.

I winced. This was gonna be one of those 'oh shit' moments. I took hold of the blanket tip and pulled it down slowly.

It was Hakkai.

I suddenly felt very shaky. Like an adrenaline high without a purpose. I stood there, not saying or doing anything, just trying to breathe correctly. My presence must have triggered Hakkai's defense system, because he opened his eyes quickly, staring at me.

"G-gojyo..?"

"Shit, Hakkai, don't -do- that!"

He sat up. "I wasn't aware that I had done anything...I was wondering why you were up hovering."

I crossed my arms. "Why the fuck are you sleeping in a chair?"

"I didn't want to wake you."

I smiled weakly. "Trust me, it's better than the alternative."

He yawned, and then looked at me questionably. "What?"

I decided to save my ego, at least for a little while. "Never mind. Just get your ass back in bed."

He smiled. "And the rest of me?"

I leaned down to kiss him. "It can come too, if you want."

Before he could reply, I picked him up. He made a little surprised noise. "Gojyo!"

I smirked. "Serves you right for scaring me like that." I walked back to the bed and tossed him gently down, throwing myself right after him.

"Afraid of the dark?" he asked with a smile.

I wrapped an arm around him, settling in comfortably. "Smartass."

"I'd prefer to be a smart one rather than a dumb one." He countered.

I laughed, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Then go to sleep."

---

Blargh, so short. [sweatdrops] Ah well. I really don't like it too much, but at least -something- came out. Beat it to death kiddos! Until next time!


End file.
